Plastination utilizes many different curable materials, for example, polyepoxides, polyesters, silicone rubbers, and the like. The inventors herein are aware of several patents which show the use of certain materials for plastination processes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2 106 261, which issued Jan. 25, 1938 to Weidemann deals with a process in which the specimen which is to be treated is immersed in bleach. The specimen is then washed with water to remove essentially all of the bleach and the specimen is set in a dehydrating solution of alcohols, acetone or combinations thereof. Finally, the specimen is dried and coated with a clear lacquer to impregnate or encapsulate the specimen. There is no clear definition of the make up of the clear lacquer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4 205 059 which issued on May 27, 1980 to Von Hagens uses a more elaborate process in which the process starts out with the replacement of the water content of the specimen, in this case, animal or vegetable tissue, with an organic solvent which is volatile in a vacuum and at ambient temperature. Then, the specimen, which contains solvent, is held in contact with a fluid precursor polymer system in a vacuum and at a specified temperature until the solvent is volatilized and replaced in the specimen by the polymeric system. The curable system is stated as being capable of being polymerized into a solid, water insoluble, synthetic resin. The specimen to then subjected to a "drying down" time in which the excess polymeric system is allowed to flow by gravity from the specimen. The specimen is then held under polymerization conditions until the resin is cured. Claim 6 of that reference discloses that the resin is "a silicone rubber". The curable silicone rubber was described as a fully compounded curable material.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,992 which issued Jan. 13, 1981 to Von Hagens is a divisional of the aforementioned U.S. patent and therefore does not need additional discussion herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,701 which issued Jul. 14, 1981 to van Hagens, disclaimed the '059 patent, and the subject matter therein is the same as the '059 patent except that it does not disclose the "ambient temperature" limitation of the '059 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4 320 157 which issued Mar. 16, 1982 is directed to a method of converting cut sections of bio tissue into examinable plastinated sheet by a method which includes pre-treating to render the specimen suitable for impregnation, thereafter, impregnating with a fluid precursor, compressing the specimen between two parallel panels, filling the resulting formation with impregnating fluid, curing the fluid and removing the plates.